5 My time
I slowly went back to Jacob since I had a better view of the entire hall. The talk with Flora cleared my view but also the words from that woman from the woods came back at the same time.
"Julia Taylor! Come to the priestess! Don't be shy!" The old mage shouted. Again. He always shouts even if everyone is quiet.
As she was walking up the stairs we could see her long red hair almost to the knees. Her body was that of a wasp, a very compelling silhouette. Her hands were very pale as were her face and legs. As she came to the priestess she looked in their direction and smiled as she slowly lifted her hand in the priestesses direction.
"She is a beauty isn't she?" Said Jacob while staring at her giving her hand to the priestess.
"Yeah, she is indeed beautiful," She was of a small build. A gentle one. Her hands were shallow and her skin looked very gentle.
Priestess finally got her hand and she started intensely sweating with a big smile on her face, then she stood up and shouted with joy.
"Julia Taylor, power amplification 12!" As she was stepping down everyone was clapping and cheering with joy even my parents and the king were all cherishing that news.
While she was leaving the hall she came to me and whispered.
"I'll be waiting at the top." With an inviting voice right into my ear. She smooched my cheek I blushed.
"I see that lord already has someone after him huh?" He said with a joking voice as if he was about to laugh.
"Shh Jacob," I Answered a little pissed.
"Jacob Jaden! come to the priestess!" The old man's shout started getting pretty annoying.
"Good luck," I had to wish him good luck, well he wasn't that familiar to me, but I can do at least that.
"Thanks" He smiled and started a fast walk in the direction of the priestess. He looked so innocent… As he gave the priestess his hand she also smiled but, not as much as with Julia.
"Jacob Jaden ten!" Everyone was cherishing another talent of this generation of course not as much as Julia. But it was still loud. He looked around and his face went red. Was it from shame or just a blush? I couldn't say. He then ran straight back to me and said.
"Hayden! Did you hear that? I'm a level ten! I can help my family now! They won't suffer anymore!" He was almost screaming exhilarated.
"Good for you Jacob. I'm happy for you!" I smiled as I was saying that. I was truly happy for Jacob...
"I wonder what the young master will get. Eleven? Twelve? Or maybe… Mo…" The old bastard again interrupted but not me this time.
"Hayden Moonshine! Come to the priestess!" Everyone, even my parents were looking as I was going up the stairs. But every step felt like it was slower than anything I had ever seen. Almost as if the time stopped… This short moment was really terrifying. Very sweaty because of the pressure, at the very least my brothers weren't there...
But my father is a different story. He will almost always be in the city since he is a great general. There are no wars in our part of the country and because he is a general he is friends with the king, since they've fought together for many years. And the last king didn't have an heir, he had to give it to one of them since they both were the greatest generals of the army. They had a fight for the crown.
This distant memory came to my mind. When I looked at the king and my father close to each other this view appeared in my head… How it was exactly...
They fought in an arena made specifically to withstand the power of two level eleven generals at the brink of a breakthrough. About ten mages had to be placed to make a barrier powerful enough to protect the people watching.
The arena was very large; it seemed like a colosseum where two gladiators are to fight for honor and glory. For life and death.
The fight started with both of them greeting with a little spell of theirs. That made an impact so powerful that the whole arena shook and the dark sand went 4 floors high. Since weapons and weaponlike shapes weren't allowed they were restricted to raw power, elements, and materials of all kinds but no shapes. They both stood and looked at each other with passionate eyes.
"Not half bad Kasper!" My father said really excited.
"You aren't far behind to Chester."
"So shall we make the show genuinely interesting?"
"You are reading in my mind!"
As he ended that sentence they both created spells in their hands. My father had a small lightning storm in his hand. Why was it small though? He once said that compressing the spell in your hand is better so that it won't hit the ground in the way. If he was to decompress that spell the whole arena would be swallowed in lightning and thunders. Kasper had something that looked like rubber in his hand.
"How can you make rubber a damaging spell?" I thought. But the answer came to my head in practice as they fought. They both hurled their darkness at each other without moving an inch. Their spells clashed, they unleashed the spell's true powers, the whole sorcery wasn't left on its own no… As they clashed they were controlled by telekinesis. Shield made of rubber fought the spear of lightning, both were beautiful spells that resonated with dark sand all over the arena. Both sorceries exploded in a maleficent way sparking in all directions.
Then they took positions. And both started a barrage of magic not only lightning and rubber. A big variety of different elements and materials from iron to stone from stone to fire and from then forward unending barrage of dark magic.
The fight went on for several minutes with dark sand being in every corner of the arena and the barrier slowly starting to weaken. As they both got tired, they saw in their eyes "It's time for the finale" like quote. In their final clash, they wanted to keep it simple so they didn't make any element any material no. It was a pure power with no real form; it was just a pure ball of darkness that swallowed every color around it, it looked like a black hole that could devour even the sun.
After that, they flew up so that the barrier won't be at risk of breaking. By then both matters struck and made an unseeable show because the whole sky was covered in black almost like an eclipse. Only dark sand could be seen from the colosseum. Even they could barely see the outcome.
My father said it was Kasper that had the advantage because he had a little more experience in making a true matter out of his power. Father mostly relied on creating things and elements and not just expressing raw strength. And that's how it ended. After that father told me that after that he was asleep for a week or so. But after he woke up he wasn't angry or anything, he was still happy that it was his best friend and not someone who he doesn't know.
When he got back to the place of their clash there was a deep crater in the earth. Very deep and dark. The hole was pitch black. The dark sand after that clash didn't disappear; it sank right into the earth. And so it merged with the soil. It's there to this day. Many years after the fight.
And that's how the actual lord of this city "Kasper the XIV" was made the king. Since then they were still good friends.
And now these two powerful men are watching me as my power is to be evaluated. Since their power was at the mid ascension they knew that I would be someone at least of the same caliber. A very scary thing... Being a son of big families. Very scary...
My mother's beautiful hair the only thing that's beautiful about her. A clear white hair just like mine. Her clear face with almost no scars… She was also a strong warrior but that just shows how good she actually was at fighting. It all reminds me of my father's stories, I remember that she could rival many foes with unfathomable power. Her strength was not that of how much she had, but how she utilized it.
Even rivaling that of fathers. That was one of the reasons why they got together.
And the other is that… Her imagination was art.
From all the wars my father has fought every man, woman or anthropomorphic creature he has faced. Never has he seen such beautiful magic.
Flowers flowing from her as vines splitting into more and more surrounding the whole battlefield. And at the end of them, flowers.
He never saw that before and it was at that time when he fell in love with her. Since magic always resembled one's soul in one way or another after he had seen that, he knew that she was the one. I saw once how they looked because my father wanted to show them to me. He tried to imitate that but, he only came out with a small vein that looked very nice. Then he said.
"Your mother was a warrior of heart and not power. Her strength was never the amount of it but, of what she had in her mind." I was five at that time so I didn't really get it...
"But Father what does it mean? Is that somewhat different from just imagination?"
"Well, as you see, even though I am more powerful than her I still can't make that same thing. It's not only power that chains us down. It's also our minds that can make it major." He looked at me and smiled. I very rarely see him smile or express any emotion. It was one of the few moments when I felt that my father was... my father.
"Do you think I will be ever able to make that same thing?"
"Hmm, it depends on what will be in your head. And what you will seek within your heart. Your honor and pride will also create that power of yours. All that is in your mind makes your power what it is."
"Now it makes more sense… Thank you, father."
They fought in one war against each other, since she was once a foe of our city. A general of a small platoon of another city. In that fight she was fighting him and helping her own soldiers at the same time. Her power was so versatile… Fighting with a very strong warrior and other enemies. Obviously… Fighting at two fronts wasn't very helpful and so she lost… She had no chance of fighting him and helping her soldiers at the same time and that's the thing that solely lost her that fight.
After he won that battle he then took her as a slave to the castle and put power restraining handcuffs. He was so astonished by her power, that he came to her prison cell every single day.
For the first days, she didn't say a word but, after some time she started answering. Slowly but surely she started to feel more confident. With every day they had more to talk about. For example, why is she so fixated on flowers. And she asked how he became who he is and from there… They went on.
And so they got together. It took some time, but my father never regretted a single second with the woman he loved. They were more and more into each other and after a year… My mother became the wife of the general in the great city.
They went somewhere far away for their honeymoon to the land of animals and spirits. It was a great mountain with many trees all over it. The whole place was completely covered with mountains. All of the different sizes but the same things on them. They went up one and saw a very long way upstairs with something like a frame of a gate every 100 stairs up. Getting up there felt like years, the stairs were very long. But as they finally got there…
There was a small shrine that looked like a small house. They took their time there since they were very tired. It was already pretty late in the night. They were looking at the stars. It was a very beautiful night… They made love and so… My mother got pregnant.
As they came back very happy with the pregnancy. When they were already in the city... A ghost appeared before their eye and so, the child has been cursed while they were in the mountains… that shrine was actually a home for the mad spirits of the mountain. The curse was made by the spirits because they ignored their signs. They disturbed the resting souls of the mad. And so the child has been cursed…
It was said that it will die no matter what at the age of six…
Even the greatest powers can't stop it. Your child will die. For what you have done...
She bore the child but she knew it would die at the age of six.
She gave that child as much love as possible to make it happy. They loved him as if it was a normal child that would walk, breathe, and live a life like all other humans. And he did all those things until the day... When he reached the age of six… He turned into stone and crumbled into ashes in her arms.
They got both terrified and fell into depression, which changed them for the rest of their lives. And that's why I and my other brothers were raised with a hard hand.
They must have lost some of their love…
Especially because I look very similar to the dead son. My... Dead brother.
So those who have seen him are looking at me with sad eyes and almost always are pointing fingers at me.
I extended my arm slowly to the priestess.
The only person that cared about me was Flora… The only one that has actually done anything for me. She cared about me. She was always worried about me. She raised me… She was my 'real' mother. Not that fake woman. With the same grimace as always. Hate... I want to make Flora proud! For all that she's done to me.
I kept pushing my hand forward. Very close to knowing my destiny...
